Embrera Indian Village

What an amazing cultural experience. We kept waiting for something touristy to happen, but it didn’t. It was the real deal!

We took a bus for about 1.5 hours out of Panama City, getting on smaller and smaller roads. Then we boarded dugout canoes—real trees hollowed to hold 8-10 people. They did have a motor on back, which is a good thing. We traveled by canoe 45 minutes up the Chagres River to an Embera Indian Village—we would have never gotten there rowing! There are no roads—travel by water is the only access. This is deep in the Panamanian jungle. Picture 1 shows our transportation.

The village had no electricity The houses (picture 2) varied from planed boards to logs, built 10-12 feet off the ground, so they don’t have to worry about tarantulas and snakes (very venomous—like the bushmaster). The houses have roofs and half walls, letting the air flow through. There are large roof overhangs because it rains—a lot!

Clothing for the tribe consists of rectangular pieces of cloth. The men wear a loincloth and crossed, beaded necklaces. Most women are topless, although some have constructed a beaded bra-like top. Women wrap a large rectangular cloth around their waist. Children dress like adults. All go barefoot. They use a semi-permanent dye (lasts about a week) to put designs on their bodies. Conveniently, it also seems to be an insect repellent.

No one has a job. The men hunt and fish, providing their protein: fish, armadillo, deer and the occasional wild boar. Their other main staple is the plantain (similar to a banana). They don’t have dishes—all food is served on plantain leaves. They prepared a simple lunch of fish and smashed and fried plantains (picture 3). 

Bringing tourists to the village is the only source of money for this tribe. Everyone contributes crafts, which are sold to the tourists. Men do wood carving and seed carving. The seeds are orange-sized and, when carved, look like ivory. The women make monkey masks and baskets from woven reeds, with colors found naturally.

The children play with the village ball—one boy was kicking it, very much like soccer. They play games—we saw one using stone to draw in the sand. Everyone dances (picture 4).

There is one 2-holed outhouse.

All children attend a school some distance away through 6^th grade. To go beyond that, they must leave the village and almost no one leaves. Our guide was Embera, growing up in another village. He left the village, finished high school and 2 years of college in Oregon. His stories and experiences were amazing.

How fortunate we were to have had a day like this (picture 5).